Another way to light a chimney


 
M

Mike A.

TVWBB Fan
I'm sure I'm not the first to try this. I sometimes want to get a fire going faster than a chimney and 3 sheets of newspaper can manage, without all the smoke and ash.

I had a single-burner camp stove ($19 @ Target) in the garage. I used tin snips to notch the bottom of my chimney to match the 3 raised bars on the stove. Loaded the chimney with lump, put it on top, lit the stove and wow . . . lots of sparks, but the lump was ready to go in 5 minutes with no mess.

- Mike
 
Yeah, propane burners work great for starting chimneys. I'm still trying to figure out why my gas grill came with a chimney starter on it.
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It gets a bit hotter than the manufacturers thought it would though, the plastic control knob for the burner is melting, they must have tested it with one of the small chimneys.
 
I use the side burner of the gasser too. Out of curiostiy, do you leave your burner ring on and place the chimney on it or do you take it off so the burner goes right under the coals in the chimney? I've been taking the ring off but I was wondering if the heat build-up was too great for the porcelain finish of the side burner.
 
I 've tried using a Mapp(????) gas torch. I found it was as easy to light pieces of fire wood starter and let it burn as it was to stand with a torch
Originally posted by Greg M.:
Has anybody tried a small propane torch that is primarily used for plumbing?
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Originally posted by Greg M.:
Has anybody tried a small propane torch that is primarily used for plumbing?
Click to expand...
I tried this method on my last cook. Because of winds, I didn't want to try lighting a chimney so I used a mapp gas torch to light the corners in 4 places ~ Took about 2 minutes to do so and it worked well with the Guru/Silver Jacket setup.

 
Mike

I know people who have turkey fryers use their propane burner to light their chimney. 80,000 BTU'S does a fast job.
 
Originally posted by Tony Serra:
80,000 BTU'S does a fast job.
Click to expand...
Just remember to turn it off after about 30 seconds, or you'll melt the grate right out of the bottom of the chimney.
 
Tell me more about the pam technique... do you scrunch them up, spray em down, and then put the chimney over the towels? Do tell.

Thanks,
Josh
 
Two standard size sheets of paper towel, balled up medium tight. Close range blast of PAM on one side for 2-3 seconds. Place on charcoal grate, light, and put chimney on top.
 
I have one of those pump up type oil sprayers I keep vegie oil in. I use this to spray two paper towels all over on one side (just mist them, no need to soak them). Then crumple up like normal and put in the Weber chimney.

The smoke is more black than using newspaper, but it works great. I think the black color is from the cooking oil and paper combo.
 
Originally posted by JimT:
On a related note:

Where do Y'all set your chimney once it is started? Just looking for ideas.

JimT
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I set it on the charcoal grate of my grill. If I'm doing a high heat cook, then I'll put it on the charcoal grate of the WSM, since I'll be dumping the unlit charcoal on top of the lit stuff...
 
Originally posted by JimT:
On a related note:

Where do Y'all set your chimney once it is started? Just looking for ideas.

JimT
Click to expand...

I have an ECB with an old grate set up within an arm's distance from my WSM. I set the chimney on 2 crumpled paper towels with some veggie oil on them. Light the paper towels.

Any ashes fall into an old water pan I keep there for that use.
 
Originally posted by JimT:
On a related note:

Where do Y'all set your chimney once it is started? Just looking for ideas.

JimT
Click to expand...
I have a 22" weber grill charcoal grate which I use when I put the charcoal ring in the lower grate position of the middle section for "normal" grilling. The 22" weber charcoal grate is a perfect fit and made to handle the heat of direct coals.

I set this grate over the ring in the base and the chimney on top of it. This puts the grate almost flush with the top edge of the lower section (base). It may not really make a difference, but that extra space in my mind would give added air flow from the bottom up.
 
I put mine on the Smokey Joe, or the bottom of the 22.5 Gold. I just open the vents all the way.

Another way to light it...some people use a weed burner.
 
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